A Pink Hockey Helmet
by twilightslittleangel
Summary: When Galinda finds a sign up sheet for Ice Hockey at Shiz, and convinces Elphaba to sign up as well, things get pink. Fiyeraba...but not too much of course.


**Hello there, I have another one shot for all of you to enjoy. Let's see some stats on this here story. Firstly, it is the longest one shot ever at 10 pages without the authors note. I have spent 2070 minutes on it, and I started writing it August 22. So this story is about hockey, but that doesn't mean you need to know anything about the sport. This takes place in a winter after the Lion cub. Some of this stuff wasn't in my rough draft that I wrote while in Saskatoon, so it got boosted in words. WHOOHOO! The pink hockey gear does exist; my sister M'dith has pink socks, skate laces, jersey, stick, tape, helmet, and gloves. Sure, she isn't old enough to use a glue gun, but if she was she would totally sparkle her helmet. We also call her Pinkie. Elphaba and her new hobby of knitting is purely mine, because I totally can knit, though I have gotten better.**

**Disclaimer time!  
>Fiyero Tiggular and Elphaba Thropp were walking down a pathway in Shiz, just enjoying each other's company. Little did they know that they were being stalked by a Fiyeraba Fluff writer by the name of Twilightslittleangel. Well, they did actually know that they were being stalked, so on the count of three, they stopped walking and in one swift move, duct taped Twilla to a tree and tried to get her to state that she did not own WICKED or any of its characters, or hockey for that matter. Twilla proved that she was strong until they stole her computer. Then she proclaimed that she would never own it. Now Fiyero and Elphaba are happily hiding from creepy fan girls. <strong>

* * *

><p>It happened like every other winter activity at Shiz. Galinda would see the sign up form and tell Elphaba, and Elphaba would kill her over-excited friend's spirit and say no.<p>

"But Elphie, they're offering figure skating and ice hockey!" At the mention of hockey, Elphaba looked up from her knitting and her book, as she needed to knit her presents and reread her book for history.

Elphaba had always wanted to play hockey, because when she was younger her dad would get her some skates and send her out to the frozen pond in the backyard of their home, especially when she was upset. Her dad didn't beat her, but he wasn't very fond. She had gotten really good at skating and had tried figure skating already. In fact, she would always go and watch the village hockey games with Nessa.

"Galinda, how did you know that I've always wanted to play hockey? Yes, we both can sign up for that." Galinda flung herself at Elphie, screeching in her ear when Elphaba asked another important question. "Where do you plan on finding hockey gear?" Eventually, the blonde peeled herself off of her green friend and answered the question.

"Why, they are renting out hockey gear for this, as most of us don't have any hockey gear, and the fittings are happening now."

"Well, then I'm going to go and get changed so I can go to the fittings." Elphaba walked over to her closet and picked out her black pants and a navy blue long sleeved shirt. Taking those with her, she went over to the bathroom to change when Fiyero opened the door.

"I was wondering if you guys are going to play hockey or figure skating, but I see you are otherwise engaged. Goodbye." He said rather fast, as he had knocked Elphaba down and she was still wearing her nightgown.

"Since I'm in a good mood, I will not beat the living snot out of you with my hairbrush, but one word of this and I will string you up by your toes on a tree and let Morrible deal with you." She threatened. Picking up her clothing, Fiyero noticed a small Vinkun tattoo, the symbol for hope just under her arm.

"Nice tattoo." He said before leaving the room. If you looks could kill Fiyero would be dead, but that would break her best friend's heart, so Elphaba didn't think of any immediate plans to kill him.

In no less than half an hour, the two sister-like friends were off on their way to the hockey fittings. It went surprisingly well, because Galinda didn't make much of a fuss about the gear being black and smelly. Once she was fitted properly, it was Elphaba's turn. On their way out, both of them toting their adopted gear in the hockey bags, Galinda turned to Elphaba.

"Elphie, I don't know how to skate. Do you think that you could teach me so I don't die tomorrow?"

"Of course I will. But before we can do that, I need to tape your stick. I got mine taped while you were in fittings."

~^-.-^~ this is a kitten line break. ~^-.-^~

"Hold the stick like this." Elphaba showed Galinda, as they were both on a frozen pond just outside of the forest that she and Fiyero released the Lion cub. This practice had succeeded in teaching Galinda how to skate.

"Good girl. Now skate me a few laps like that and we'll go back to the dorms and I'll make hot chocolate." Galinda skated around while Elphaba took off her skates and put back on her boots. When Galinda finished her laps, Elphaba took off her skates as well.

On their way back to the dorm, the girls were talking about what past Lurlinemases were like for them.

"Every Lurlinemas, my father got me a pair of skates, a pair of socks and a book or two. We had a pond in the backyard that froze over, and when I was in a bad mood he would send me out there and I would skate it off."

"That sounds fun. I never really got to go skating or do fun stuff out in the snow, because when it was Lurlinemas my parents had to go to political meetings and we had to go and see my Grandmother. We went shopping a lot, but I never really got to have much of a child hood."

The next few moments were filled with awkward silence and the sound of pink and brown boots crunching snow down, and the clicking noise of their skates. Elphaba took this time to admire the snowy university scene. Sure, they were on class break, but that didn't mean that the teachers spent all their time marking. The Science teacher was all alone, making a snowman. Some of the other kids were having a snowball fight. It seemed perfect.

Later that night, Elphaba was knitting pink and green hockey socks for her and Galinda, as request from the perky little blonde. They were excited to play hockey, and Galinda even was excited though she didn't know that tomorrow she would be sweaty and stinky.

~^.^~

"Get up! We need to be at the rink in twenty minutes." Elphaba said, rather annoyed at her friend, as she ripped of the frilly, pink comforter off the bed.

"Oz, its cold in here!" Galinda screeched before trying to keep herself warm with her sheet. After Elphaba finally took off all of the bedding, Galinda got up. "Okay, I'm going to go and get ready. I shouldn't put on makeup, or it will smear and that would be horrible." She was saying as she prowled around looking for some comfortable clothing to wear under her gear. Elphaba was sitting on her bed, tucking her ponytail up into her toque so that it didn't get in her way while she played.

Soon, the girls were in the women's change room at the rink with the four other girls that had signed up for hockey. To be honest, the four other girls were surprised to see a green girl, but after the ice was broken by a fat polar bear, they became friends. Elphaba was the first one ready, as Galinda copied all of the steps Elphaba took.

The first practice was working on skating and passing, though the instructor, Tybalt, said that they would be working more on passing tomorrow. After the drills, all the good players were separated equally so that they could play a fair scrimmage.

During the scrimmage, Elphaba's check was just as good as she was. He had a white jersey with sharpie signatures on it. She couldn't see his face while she battled him for the puck, but she could tell that he had played this before. This mysterious character was quite the player, and he was one of the few people who could skate and play at the same time.

After the game, Elphaba and Galinda met at the bench, as this was a real ice rink. The mysterious hockey player had taken off his helmet, only to reveal that it was Fiyero. He was currently racing Avaric around the rink, and it made Galinda's day. Elphaba's check was Fiyero, and after realizing that she went back to the change room with her helmet and toque under her arm.

"I can't believe that Fifi is playing hockey too! Ewww…I smell." Galinda said as she took off her gear. Elphaba was wiping her skates dry.

"I'm going to go and drop my gear back at the dorm and then I have to go the library to get a book that I need. Do you need anything?" Galinda whipped out a hairbrush and started to brush her hair.

"Okay Elphie, but you need to get some snacks for the party that I'm holding. It's going to be fun!" And on that bright note, Elphaba took what was left of her dignity and went to do her errands.

This was the perfect time for her to think; her favourite hobby. She was playing check to Fiyero, Galinda's boyfriend and her possible crush. Someone had put a hole in her self-constructed wall of thoughts, and she thought that it was the lion cub.

She guessed that being Fiyero's check wasn't very problematic. After all, the worst thing that could happen was that she would fall in love with, and no one had to know. He could possibly get killed, and she still owed him for breaking into their room. But killing her best friend's boyfriend wasn't the best way to go. If she had murder on her history, then the chances of getting to the Wizard without any problems didn't work out as they had planned.

But that was highly improbable, right? Elphaba hated Fiyero Tiggular's guts. That was that.

Stopping at the cafeteria for some vegetables for this impromptu party, Elphaba continued on her way homeward bound. Standing outside of the door, she could hear the giggles and smell some alcohol. Maybe she should give them the food and camp out in the hallway. But that would only cause a commotion. Carefully, not knowing what to expect, Elphaba opened the door. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

No one was swapping spit on her bed, and to be honest, they were sitting in a circle. The alcohol she had smelled came from Avaric, who had snuck in a bottle of Oz's finest, and since he didn't believe in wasting it, he decided to down the entire bottle. They were playing truth or dare, so it still was a dangerous place to be. Galinda didn't pay attention of Elphaba enter the room, so being the smart girl she is placed the platter in the middle of the circle. Galinda nodded thanks. Taking off her coat and boots, Elphaba decided she would go to take a shower, no matter how dangerous it was.

Once in the shower, Elphaba heard bursts of giggles, but she didn't hear her name. When she finished her four minute shower, she went back out in her black cotton night gown and crawled into her bed. Maybe all this worrying was what kept her on the edge.

Grabbing her green pen that her dad had gotten her as a Lurlinemas present, Elphaba started on the rough draft for her history essay, about how the arrival of the wizard made things better and worse for the country of Oz. So far, she had pointed out all the bad points, about how Animals were getting persecuted. If Dr. Dillamond was there, he would have given her a hug.

Finishing the rough draft, Elphaba reread it, checking it for grammar issues, and spelling. Wouldn't the game players call it quits? Of course they wouldn't, the game was in full swing. She saw Galinda leaning in, and Elphaba lay down on her bed, turned off her lamp, and tried to fall asleep, no matter how stupid it was. The game was in full swing and Avaric was invited.

The game was still going at ten, and after mumbling a quick spell, Elphaba finally convinced herself to go to sleep. The homey smell of her black comforter engulfed her completely. So much so that when the game finally disbanded, she didn't notice someone curl up and go to sleep on her bed.

Waking up that morning from her forced slumber, Elphaba noticed Fiyero cuddled up on the foot of her bed. Why he was there no one knew, but if he was anything smart he hadn't tried something stupid. Getting out of bed, she worked through her schedule. The arena opened up at seven for an early skate for those people, and then the practice would start at eight thirty.

"Hey you, scram!" Elphaba yelled uselessly at Fiyero. She didn't worry about Galinda; the only way she woke up was if you tortured her, or if you set the alarm clock of doom. Other than that, you could hire the Emerald Marching Band to play their famous bagpipes song and she wouldn't wake up.

Grabbing her hockey bag, Elphaba went to the rink, just to warm up before the practice. She could skate alone in the silence; she had done it before and was okay with the solitary feeling. In fact, it wasn't always as quiet, as she would sing while she practiced. Taking the puck, she shot it into the net repeatedly before going and taking a sip of her water.

"Hello there!" a new voice said, and Elphaba froze. If they heard her sing she would freak out, as it was the one thing that she kept to herself for herself. Fiyero must have woken up not long after she had, because there was no way she had set the alarm clock to seven thirty.

"So, am I allowed to know the name of my mysterious check?" he said as he skated out to Elphaba, just his jersey, gloves and skates on, gear wise.

"No. You'll have to guess." This was a game two could play at, and even more, but two was the favourite number. She stole his puck that he was lazily handling around the net. Skating down the rink with it, he chased her and tried to guess her name.

They continued at this game, and then practice would start. Afterwards, Galinda would go and socialize and Elphaba would amuse herself until lights out, in which they would both rendezvous at the dorm room. This became habit for the entire week, all except Thursday and Friday.

On the Thursday of which we do speak, Galinda went back to the dorm with Elphaba, just to start working on her essay for history, as well as get some help on that said essay and vent. Lately, her topic of venting was about how Fiyero had become more distant and 'moodified' than usual and so Galinda was very much convinced that he liked someone.

"That's it! I am going to break up with him tonight, and then I will strive to find out who he likes and I will get those two people together!" Galinda said, holding her pen like a sword in the air, as if she was some sort of female warrior. Elphaba looked up from her knitting and her book. This statement didn't hold to much meaning for her, but a purge feeling went through her. It felt like hope and love, but Elphaba wasn't sure.

Resuming her knitting, she told herself that she was not that girl, and that there was no way she would ever be. Fiyero was probably going to take the break up by going out to the clubs, getting totally wasted, and then coming home with another book full of phone numbers. Sitting in the silence was awkward for the both of them, as they were usually talking about something totally stupid, but this awkwardness was broken when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Galinda yelled, closing her books so that she could go and start bedazzling her helmet, skates and socks for the coming hockey game. The knob twisted, and in walked a much swankified prince.

"Hello there dearest! I was just about to go looking for you. I have to talk with you." Galinda said, and Elphaba wanted to puke at the sugar content in her little blonde's voice.

"I came here for almost the same reason." Fiyero said, sitting on Galinda's bed. Elphaba, deciding to give them some privacy, went to go and find another skein of pink yarn for the knit flower she was making. _Almost the same reason!_ Her inner princess screamed, while that part of her told herself that it could possibly be because Avaric came home a little tipsy with a beach blonde clinging to him.

"You see, Galinda, I don't really think that I deserve you're commitment to this relationship. I don't think I love you anymore." The look on the Winkie prince's face was priceless as Galinda squeaked.

"I totally understand, so can we just be friends?" Fiyero agreed, and so they gave each other a hug. "So why did you come here?"

"Avaric came home a little tipsy, and he had a little redhead on his elbow, so I left. I'm just going to chill with you people." The part of Elphaba that wasn't that girl started screaming 'I told you so!' How stupidly gullible she had been.

"Well, I have a girl's night out planned with Pfanne and ShenShen, so I have to go. Elphie, you won't try to kill Fifi, will you?" Galinda asked as she put on touch ups for her makeup.

"No, Galinda, I will not viciously stab out his eyes with my knitting needles. I promise." Galinda looked at her with a look of sincerity in her eyes. "I won't kill him."

Ignoring as much as she could from the current situation, Elphaba continued knitting, concentrating as much as she could on her project. This didn't work so well, as she was almost done Galinda's gift, and then she had to do Fiyero's and she wouldn't be able to work on his while he was in the vicinity.

"Whatcha knitting Elphie?" He asked, jumping onto her bed in such a 'dancing through life' way.

"A pink flower. Why can't you call me Elphaba like every other civilised person in the world?"

"Because I'm not civilised; I'm thrillifying! I still fling poop at flying bystanders. If Galinda and Nessa can give you nicknames, then I can too." Elphaba put down her knitting.

"Nessa is my sister; she is allowed to. Galinda is Galinda, and she would give trees nicknames if I let her. If you'll just excuse me, I'm going to go and change into my nightgown and try to go to sleep."

"Okay then. I'll just go to bed then." Fiyero crawled onto Galinda's bed and promptly started to sleep. Ignoring these childish acts of immaturity, Elphaba went to go and get changed into her night gown. Once getting changed, she went to her bed and started to reread a sappy romance novella that she had checked out of the library. Fiyero slowly got up from his false sleeping fit, complete with the stretching and yawning.

"What did I miss?" he asked, pretending to be groggy.

"Well, I just got changed into my night gown, and now I'm rereading one of my books. You are welcome to be quiet now." Fiyero got up, and went to sit on Elphaba's foot. He stared at her for a moment, and in that moment he had thought many things. Firstly, how beautiful it looked on her, secondly, how much he loved her, and thirdly, how to start tickling her. Cautiously, he took his hands and started to tickle her sides, reaching over her book. When she didn't react the way he had planned, he sat back and wondered aloud;

"Nessa said you were ticklish." Out of the corner of his eye, Fiyero could have sworn that he saw Elphaba smile.

"Of course she did, but you're not tickling in the right place, and I will never tell you where." She said, putting down her book and crossing her arms. Fiyero went to tickle her under the chin and around the neck, but nothing happened. Finally, he started to tickle behind her knees.

"You little Minx! Sod off before I go and get Galinda!" She yelled, and retreated under her blankets. Fiyero backed off and sat on the foot of her bed. Elphaba hid under the covers. Deciding to be the good gentleman he was raised to be but never paid mind to, he offered to go.

"Don't go yet Fiyero. I am not that tired."

"Then you won't mind me asking what that Vinkun sign for hope is doing under your arm." He said a smirk on his face. "If you tell me I won't ever bug you again about it, and it will not leave this room." For the first time in either of their lives, they trusted each other.

"I had just turned 18 and my dad was just being unbearable. He needed to marry me off, or kill me, but he wasn't sure what would come first. Each night I contemplated life and death, as I got to experience the vast array of my father's insults. I decided that I didn't want to commit suicide, so I went and got something to remind me of my promise. Now I have that tattoo." Fiyero understood that story all too well.

"Did you know that I had an older sister?" Fiyero asked, and Elphaba said no. "Well I did, and she was way worse than me. First of all, she was way more promiscuous than me, and Soika had a fondness for standing out. So instead of getting the proper tattoos for crown princess, she got monarch butterflies and poppies. My parents were sure that she wouldn't make a proper queen, so they found themselves with two options.

"The first option was to send her to a reform school, so they tried that. The reform school was practically useless, because that Lurlinemas break, she had come back. Her hair was randomly cut and died a strange color or two, and then she told us about how she wasn't learning anything and that the coolest thing that had happened all year was when someone puked in class. Since that didn't work, my parents disowned her." By the end of his little spiel, Fiyero looked as if he would break into some manly tears, and Elphaba pitied him.

"Come here and give me a hug. It's okay…" Fiyero returned the hug, but he didn't cry.

Elphaba was very much sure that she had fallen in love with the boy she hated. Was that a good sign?

"If I want to kick my mysterious checks but, who strangely enough, reminds me of you, I better get back to my dorm. Good night Fae. I love you." Elphaba was too late to respond though, because he had closed the door and was probably out of the building. Instead of being the hopeless romantic she might have had a desire to be someday, she curled up on her bed and started to lightly cry.

"Good night Fiyero. I love you too."

Elphaba continued with her mental breakdown until Galinda got there at eight. She had only seen her friend cry twice, and the first time was when Dr. Dillamond was taken away, but those were tears of anger. Instead of shrugging it off and pretending that it would be okay in the morning, Galinda sat down on the bed and wrapped the trembling green body in her arms.

"Who did this to you Elphie?" The blonde asked. Elphaba looked up for a few moments, trying to calm herself.

"The lion cub." She said before rolling off of Galinda's lap and drowning herself in her blankets.

"How could the lion cub have done it? He's gone now, because someone released him." Galinda was still quite confused.

"Fiyero. I might actually love Fiyero." Were the last words that Galinda heard her friend say before she cuddled up and went to bed. _Poor girl, too bad I can totally fix that, _she thought as she pulled on her coat and hustled herself to Fiyero and Avaric's dorm.

After knocking at the door for a while, Avaric finally had the sense to open the door.

"I heard you and Fiyero broke up-"He started, leaning against the doorframe.

"Shove it Tenmeadows, where is Fiyero?" Avaric gestured to the first door on the left. Galinda walked over to the room and opened it, before storming in and slapped Fiyero.

"Go away." He groaned before turning on his side.

"Tiggular, if you don't get your sorry rear out of bed I will go and get Morrible." Fiyero sat up quicker than you could say Kiamo Ko.

"What do you want at this hour of the night?" he asked.

"I know you love Elphie. Now, tomorrow, you will proclaim your love and take her on a date or face the wrath of me and my shopping. Understood?" Fiyero nodded, scared out of his wits, and went back to bed. Galinda could sleep better knowing that she had done something good in the world other than making her roommate Galindafied.

Elphaba got up at six that morning, her bad mood ready to be skated off at the rink. She took a shower, and instead of tucking her hair in a toque, she would just put it all in her helmet. Stopping at the cafeteria to get an English muffin, she dragged her bag to the rink. Taping her socks up over her shin pads, our dear Elphie thought about how this was her last practice, and if she didn't check someone it wouldn't be worth her time.

Out on the ice, she warmed up for the game with all her heart. Skating laps harder, and practicing her shots helped her mood. She sang while she skated again, only a more popular song that people would actually know, if they eavesdropped on her. No one came to bug her, so she gave it her all and then some.

Fiyero showed up at the rink half an hour to his last practice, which was later than usual. Sure enough, he knew that Elphaba would be there. She had the most beautiful voice he had heard in a while, even better than his disowned sister's.

"Sorry I'm late." He said, skating over to the net. "Are you going to tell me who you are?"

"No."

"But you promised."

"Not now." Elphaba said, getting tired of this conversation.

When the coaches arrived, they had Elphaba take the girls jerseys into the room, and Fiyero do the same for the boys. Strangely enough, they had been appointed team captains, and Elphaba's team color was green. Fiyero wasn't quite sure what color his team was, though it seemed to be a mixture of pink and blue. It looked like purple, but it wasn't quite purple. Anyways, it really did irk him.

After the puck dropped, Elphaba made it her personal goal to kick Fiyero's but. Sure, he didn't really know that it was her, but she wanted to make sure that he got what he deserved for possibly breaking her. Elphaba Melena Thropp did not grow emotion for someone, because if she did, then her dad would get on her case and all those bad things, and she would end up in trouble. Besides, she needed to take care of her sister. How could she do that if she was fawning over someone like a school girl? She couldn't.

In the first twenty minutes, she had gotten a penalty for playing dirty, and so had Fiyero. Avaric had picked a fight with someone and got kicked out of the game. Nessa and Boq were the only ones to be sitting in the bleachers when the game had started, but as it progressed, it had gotten quite intense and more teachers and students alike came out to watch them play. Little did they know that the one player that they all loved on the green team was the most repulsive person to all of them. Of course, the student body as a whole had gotten better about Elphaba's peculiar verdigris.

While they were out playing, Fiyero and Elphaba kept giving each other petty jabs. Some were quite weak, but it was all supposed to be good fun.

"Does your mother know that you're out?" Elphaba asked, getting tripped by his stick. Fiyero got the penalty.

"Why she does. Does yours?" He had replied again. Once again, Fiyero got another penalty.

"My mother is dead." With that statement, the fun game died out, but not without Fiyero getting another penalty, and the second period started.

After being benched, Elphaba watched Galinda play her hardest. It was insane how the girl who didn't like getting dirty wanted to play hockey, but then again, Elphaba loved the sport. Galinda was trying to get Elphaba to trust her even more, and right now it was working. Surely the girl deserved some kudos for the effort. Skating was something that Galinda had improved in significantly, and with this, the blonde had acquired the puck and was skating vigorously towards Fiyero's teams net. This was going to be good. Everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats, because they all knew it was Galinda due to the pink and sparkles on all of her gear. The helmet sparkled even, and Elphaba was quite sure that she had done that so that she could score. It worked, because Galinda had scored and caused Elphaba's team to go into the lead.

Like all good things, the game did end, and after all of the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that went into the game, Elphaba's team had won. Tired out from working so hard, the two girls skated back to the bench, but Galinda snagged onto Fiyero and now was on a joy ride around the rink. Elphaba had taken off her helmet and was drinking from her water bottle when she heard the blonde girl screech as she landed on her but. Falling on the ice hurt, no matter how much padding you had on. Even though this was probably something entirely stupid, and Galinda would probably recover as long as she didn't break a nail, Elphaba skated over to her.

"Are you okay, Pinkie?" Galinda had gotten that nickname after she declared herself the Goddess of Pink and that she must be worshipped. Elphaba wasn't about to start being religious, so she decided to call Galinda pinkie and get it over with.

"It's nothing Elphie! Now I see why they have so much bum padding in hockey gear." Elphaba sighed inside, but helped Pinkie get up. Fiyero had his back turned to them, so he didn't see the entire thing happen.

"Galinda, did you fall?"

"Yes, dearest, I did fall, but Elphie helped me up. See!" Elphaba stood there laughing with Galinda at the expression on Fiyero's face. If you were to have seen it, it looked as if someone had swapped the food in Shiz with plastic food, and he was just learning this as he ate his supper. The look was pure surprise.

"Dude, you should see your face!" laughed Avaric, who had snuck back onto the ice.

"Elphaba, you were the incredibly good player out there that was my check ad tried to kill me! I should have known." It was Galinda's time to be surprised.

"You were Fiyero's check and you didn't say anything Elphie? Well, that's understandable. Now, I am going to go and take a shower, I stink." There was an awkward silence.

"Race you to the little pond in the meadows where we released that lion cub." Elphaba said.

"You're on."


End file.
